W3C WAI today published a collection of statistics, case studies, and articles supporting the business case for web accessibility in Resources for Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization. Thanks much to Liam McGee and Sunil Patel of Communis for pulling together this first batch of resources.

We would like to add relevant, strong resources to this page. We are particularly looking for case studies where the main changes to the website were accessibility improvements. If you have made accessibility improvements to your website in the last three years, we may be able to help you gather data and develop a case study. Would your organization be willing to share your case study to support the business case for web accessibility?

To share business case resources, please e-mail the publicly archived list: w3.org-wai-editors@w3.org, or team-accessibility-business-case@w3.org (This second mailing list is not publicly archived; however, there are some non-W3C-staff Working Group members subscribed to the list.)

I've been asked: "Why are you even talking about the business case? Access to the Web is a basic human right, as stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It's the right thing to do for equal access. And it's required by law in many places."
My reply: Understanding the business case can help organizations put a higher priority on accessibility. While ideally organizations would make their websites accessible just because it's the right thing to do; in reality, many organizations need a business case justification for spending resources on accessibility. Our goal is for the Web to be accessible to people with disabilities, and we are happy to promote the business benefits of accessibility to help meet that goal and make the Web accessible.

We hope you find the business case resources helpful, and we encourage you to share your resources via the links above. Thanks! ~Shawn



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